Princeton Women’s Swimming Hires Emmett Adams As New Assistant Coach

Princeton University women’s swimming & diving head coach Abby Brethauer announced Wednesday morning that Emmett Adams will join the staff as an assistant coach. Adams steps into the role previously held by David Cooper, who joined the team last July.

“Emmett brings an exceptional combination of competitive achievement and coaching expertise that will be invaluable to our program,” said Brethauer in the university’s press release. “His experience working with swimmers at every level, from youth development to elite competitors, along with his understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest levels collegiately, will help our student-athletes reach their full potential both in the pool and in the classroom. His commitment to mental health awareness and creating inclusive environments aligns perfectly with our team values. We are so excited to welcome him to the Tiger Family.”

Adams joins the Tigers’ staff following his swimming career at Tufts University. A breaststroke and sprint freestyle specialist, he qualified for the ‘A’ final at NCAA Division III Nationals in each of his final two seasons, finishing eighth both years. During his senior season in 2025, he contributed to the Jumbos’ NCAA Division III National Championship in the 200 medley relay, posting a 23.64 breaststroke split.

Adams concluded his collegiate career with personal best times of 54.14 in the 100 breaststroke, 2:03.35 in the 200 breaststroke, 20.92 in the 50 freestyle, and 45.11 in the 100 freestyle. Throughout his time at Tufts, he earned All-American recognition eleven times and received Academic All-American honors twice from the College Sports Communicators. He holds five individual school records at Tufts and also owns a New England Small College Athletic Conference record.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be joining the Princeton swimming and diving program as an assistant coach,” said Adams. “I want to begin by thanking Coach Brethauer, the athletic department, and everyone involved in the hiring process for this incredible opportunity. Princeton’s tradition of excellence, both academically and athletically, makes it a truly special place. I’m eager to get started, support these athletes, and contribute to a program with such a rich and inspiring legacy. Go Tigers!”

Over the past two summers, Adams served as a swim coach with Commonwealth Current in Boston, Massachusetts, and previously coached at Westport Stars during the summers of 2022 and 2023, as well as Black Rock Yacht Club in summer 2022. His coaching responsibilities included working with groups of up to 20 swimmers and providing private instruction to athletes aged 5-16, ranging from age group competitors to national and Olympic trial-level swimmers.

Adams has also gained experience as a swim counselor at several camps over the past few years, including Texas Swim Camp, Navy Swim Camp, and Fairfield Swim Camp.

Adams joins a Princeton women’s coaching staff that includes head diving coach Ted Everett and assistant swim coach Kelsey Reott, who joined last July. While the diving teams share the same coach, the men’s and women’s swim teams have separate coaching staffs.

The Princeton women showed up in force for the 2025 Ivy League Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, winning their third consecutive conference title and their fourth in the last five years. A year ago, they cleared second-place Harvard by 85.5 points; this year, they more than doubled the margin to win by 191.5 with 1479 points.

The Tigers finished 38th at the NCAA Championships with 7 points, all scored by sophomore duo Eleanor Sun and Dakota Tucker in the 400 IM. Sun touched 12th while Tucker hit the wall 16th.